On tap at McCouls here in Greensboro,pours a deep golden with a nice one finger head that left a good amount of lace behind.Very well balanced aroma some English herbal hop but with a firm dry biscuity note in there,a real easy qqaffer here malty and fruity up front with some nice herbal,minty flavors in the finish.Smooth and easy to drink I think a real sociable pint with some nice flavors going on,another great one from Fullers.

D: A refreshing English IPA - very easy to drink. But considering that it's an IPA, it's aromas and flavors are slightly too restrained, I think. The hop character could have been more pronounced, although English IPA:s usually don't pack as much hops as the American ones do. Also, I think the diacetyl level is slightly too high in this one. But still, a good beer.

This is among the best IPAs I've tasted. Perhaps not at the same level as the Stone IPA, but still quite excellent.
First pour shows a brilliant and clear copper brew with a gorgeous creamy lace-like head. It shows as everything you expect in an IPA. Aromas of caramel and honey mix in harmony with the luscious, soft hops. There is a tiny touch of diacetyl that melds well, not overwhelming the hops unlike what you taste with some IPAs. First taste is a soft bittersweetness. The balance of clean, sweet malt with light and clean malt is near-perfect. The hops bitterness slides smoothly into round and almost oily fruits. Perhaps not what the English drinker expects from a traditional IPA - much more like what one tastes in American IPAs but none the less very much to my taste.

Presentation: Slender raised glass brown bottle with a &#8220;Best Before&#8221; date on the back label.

Appearance: Very bright copper hue with a healthy off white lace, appetizing in appearance.

Smell: Sweet caramel from the crystal malt and an earthy hop aroma from the Goldings Hops. Clean to the nose with a faint touch of buttery diacetyl. Caramel apple?

Taste: Medium in body, bitter sweet palate from a perfect marriage of malt and hops. Malt profile is clean and slightly sweet with hints of biscuit and cracker to a mild husk in the end. Hops are lightly oily with an even steady hand of clean bitterness that cuts through the beer. Pear like fruitiness help to round out the brew. Earthy / leafy, oily and sweet flavour from the hops lingers into far into the after taste with a hint of steely crystal malt.

Notes: Following in the greatness of the ESB, this is a great beer but definitely a modern day English IPA. A beer I&#8217;d prefer to see in my fridge more often.

12 oz brown bottle, sampled 4 months before "best by" date. Pours a light bronze with a small offwhite white that left behind a small amount of patchy lace. Subdued nose of faint toffee and some herbal hops. Light to medium carbonation in the mouthfeel, with a mild hop twang. Taste is a bit of sweet caramel malt and some earthy, woodsy hops and yeast bitterness. Carbonation seems to dominate the palate. Finishes clean and dry. Very disappointed in the lack of character, but is nicely drinkable and would be a good session ale if it had a bit more flavor.

Happy to find this one on cask at the Lazy Boy in White plains NY a ways back (and happy I took notes). Poured light straw, with a fine white head, left alot of creamy lacing. Smootha mellow IPA. Very soft on the palate. British all the way. Velvety malt , soft hops. Balanced and very enjoyable. Perfect session brew.

It poured with a burnt orange/copper color and thick head that left excellent lacing. The hoppy bitterness of the aroma is at an appropriate level. The taste is outstanding, a little less hoppy than other IPAs. An excellent brew if you like a lighter IPA.

Vibrant copper, English ipa's seem to have more lace and head despite the abbreviated hop bill relatively speaking in the context of a west coast hop head. Good sweet aroma, minimal apple fruit vibe.

The fruity downplays itself, comes from likely the yeast strain. The hops are mellow, but fruity and very enjoyable. This is a great session ipa. You get the good kind of metallic hop feel, that kind of bitter twang you like, despite it not really being that bitter at all. Everything is mellow here. Dry mouthfeel, dehydrated apples.

I can't help but wonder how great this is fresh when it doesn't travel across the pond. The best English ipa I can think of. It definitely is deserving of its reputation. Might not be for one dimensional hopheads though. Forewarned.

Same bottle as my journal article...full, sub amber color, head full in the middle and effervescent at the edge. Very assertive initial impression, hops are subdued and more berry/flower like. A sense of candy cane peppermint mid mouth that's very pleasant. Nice smell on sip. Finishes smoothly yet diminished. Malt is tasty and balance is excellent. Very drinkable but unlike many American I.P.A.s....nice...

Appearance: Pours a caramel amber tone with a nice thicket of cream colored foamy head nice bands of lacing even and decently full. Aroma: Buttered fuggles here nice English style IPA caramel malts surround the hop profile very nice. Taste: Flavor is the most fulfilling aspect of this beer, so good balanced mix of buttery sweet fuggles and other English nobles. Mouthfeel: Fuller medium body a great carbonation would love the texture on cask I have a feeling but such a solid flavor profile not much beats this one in way of English IPA. Drinkability: If I were traveling in London and came upon this one on a beer engine I believe we would become really close friends, great solid brew by a historic brewer awesome.

500ml bottle. Just had the Bengal Lancer a few days ago, and now this one shows up to add to the cadre of locally available Fuller's offerings. Pleasant presentation, as per usual, though the purple motif did throw me for a moment.

This beer pours a crystal clear, medium golden copper hue, with one anemic finger of broadly bubbly dirty white head, which leaves some short-lived high-altitude cloud ceiling lace around the glass as it rather quickly abates.

It smells of mild fruity and biscuity malt, a twinge of field honey, and soft leafy and earthy hops. The taste is sturdy bready, biscuity malt, a nicely understated tart fruitiness, and simmering, yet restrained, bitter leafy and weedy hops.

The bubbles are even and supportive, the body a fair bit on the lee side of middleweight, and smooth, but not really in a thorough sort of manner. It finishes just off-dry, the biscuity notes in the malt undergoing a personality metamorphosis, combined with the lingering leafy and fruity hops.

Expectations come high from me for this brewer, and after a few minor hiccups, this turns out a-ok - no pandering to West Coast US influences, just a nice cracking English pale ale, with a smidgen more hops and equally iterative booze factor, all to indicate with closest probability what those Bengal-bound ships were actually laden with lo those many years ago.

Bloody hell, is it IPA time again? Suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing though. After experimenting with various American double IPAs in the last week or so, I was compelled to break the chain of Americana with Fullers' addition to the scene. As the result of going through a massive phase last year of drinking nothing but London Pride for two weeks, it's safe to say that I hold Fullers and its products in high reverence. But can they match their reputation with the IPA? Time to find out.

Serving Type: 500ml bottle poured into a Duvel tulip glass.

Appearance: A copper, ruby-red body with a slightly tan-coloured head. The head retains itself quite well and laces sparingly down the glass as it disappears. Nothing terribly fascinating, but certainly not unpleasant.

Smell: Overwhelmingly hoppy, with aromas of Goldings and Fuggles being the most obvious. Some malt is noticeable with a large inhalation.

Taste: An initial hoppy bitterness transforms after two or three seconds into a deep malt finish, not dissimilar to Greene King or several other English IPAs. Sweetness and bitterness is balanced very well. Hats off lads.

Mouthfeel: Pretty much what one would expect from an English IPA - moderate-to-light carbonation and a moderately dense body. Easily sessionable.

Overall: A great addition to the IPA scene by the English brewing giants. Probably not a candidate for the finest IPA out there, but it deserves praise for the balance of malt and bitterness that so many breweries fail to achieve.